A bill to amend the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to establish a renewable electricity standard, and for other purposes.
Latest action · Apr 6, 2011 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedApr 6, 2011
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Amends the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) to require a retail electric supplier to submit to the Secretary of Energy (DOE) for calendar year 2013 and thereafter one or more of the following: (1) specified federal renewable energy credits, (2) certification of the renewable energy generated and electricity savings, and (3) specified alternative compliance payments. Prescribes, for calendar years 2013 through 2039, a schedule of graduated annual percentages of a retail electric supplier's base amount that shall be generated from renewable energy resources (increasing from 6% in 2013 to 25% in 2025).
Directs the Secretary to establish a program to: (1) verify and issue federal renewable energy credits to generators of renewable energy; (2) track the sale, exchange, and retirement of the credits; and (3) enforce the federal renewable energy credits program.
Directs the Secretary to issue a generator of electric energy one federal renewable energy credit for each kilowatt hour of electric energy generated by the use of a renewable energy resource at an eligible facility.
Prescribes rules for federal renewable energy credit trading and for borrowing and repayment of federal renewable energy credits.
Provides that this Act does not diminish the authority of a state or its political subdivision to: (1) adopt or enforce any law (including regulations) respecting renewable energy, or (2) regulate the acquisition and disposition of federal renewable energy credits by retail electric suppliers.
Permits an electric utility that has sales of electric energy subject to rate regulation to recover the full cost of renewable energy obtained to comply with this Act.
Establishes in the Treasury a state renewable energy account for a grant program for promoting renewable energy production and providing energy assistance and weatherization services to low-income consumers.
Cosponsors 11
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Apr 6, 2011 to Oct 5, 2011, with 9 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| D-MA | John F. Kerry | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| D-CO | Mark Udall | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Apr 6, 2011 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Jun 6, 2011 | |
| D-NJ | Frank R. Lautenberg | Oct 5, 2011 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Apr 6, 2011Introduced in Senate
- Apr 6, 2011Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Energy.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Apr 6, 2011Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.